Serendipity
by peanutbutter126
Summary: That their lives had been mapped for them since birth was not a maybe. But, just maybe, their futures had always been on a crash course for each other's, right from the very start. A SasuHina story in oneshots. Non-massacre AU.
1. Promise

I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.

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**Serendipity**

* * *

_Promise_

Hyuuga Hinata had her first dinner with Uchiha Sasuke when they were eight years old. Back then, they didn't know that in ten years' time, they would be standing awkwardly in his kitchen at one in the morning, waiting for water to boil. No one could blame them.

There were rings of dried coffee stains on the marble counter. Hinata caught herself absently grazing at them and quickly withdrew her hand, feeling guilty. Half a dozen branch house members had spent hours filing and painting her nails to give her these pale, perfect crescents, and here she was undoing all their work because she didn't know how to face him.

"Naruto left these last time he stayed over," Sasuke muttered by way of conversation. The sound of a closing cupboard door and barely detectable footsteps preceded two cups of ramen sliding into Hinata's view. "Which one do you want?"

"I-I don't mind. You can choose."

"Just pick one." He wasn't annoyed, but she knew what that low tone in his voice meant. He wasn't in the mood for this.

She wasn't either, so rather than flustering over having already upset him, Hinata reached out and took a cup without looking. "Thank you," she said quietly. He grunted.

Waiting for the water was excruciating. Hinata didn't realise she had been fidgeting with her cup until Sasuke began to rip open his. Only then did she notice that she had left him with shrimp flavour.

"Ano… Sasuke-kun?"

"Hn?"

"Would you like to swap?"

He raised an eyebrow. "You don't like beef?" he asked.

After a beat of hesitation, she shook her head.

His dark eyes flickered to her face and remained there for a while. Hinata fixed her own eyes on the counter. There was only one person from the Uchiha clan whose gaze did not intimidate Hinata, and it wasn't Uchiha Sasuke.

The long-awaited shriek of the kettle rescued her. Sasuke looked away. Hinata watched him pour steaming water into his cup. "You always ate everything when you were over for dinner," he said, surprising her. "My mother could never tell if you disliked any of the dishes."

"Mikoto-san is a great cook," Hinata began.

"She asked me to watch you and find out once," he continued, accustomed to ignoring her habit of diverting the spotlight back to others. "You didn't make it easy for me. The only thing I could report back was that you definitely liked meat." He snorted half-heartedly. "You're as bad a liar as Naruto."

The familiar heat of reddening cheeks flushed beneath her skin. Hinata fought to keep it down. She was embarrassed. Hiashi had made sure that she would not disgrace the Hyuuga by being a picky eater. It seemed that she hadn't failed that, at least, even if it was coming back to bite her.

Hinata held her cup out for Sasuke to pour water into, thanking him with a nod. Carefully, she said, "You don't like seafood. So I thought…"

His brow twitched. For some reason, he didn't like that she had noticed. "Just eat," he muttered, and turned away to take his noodles to the table.

Hinata closed her mouth. She wasn't going to question him again. She learnt quickly, and if acting like she knew him bothered Sasuke, she didn't plan on doing it ever again. Especially not tonight – to_day_ – after suffering through hours of pretence. They were only here, eating Naruto's ramen, because neither of them had been able to stomach the ceremony or the lavish meals.

Hinata found herself pausing in the middle of snapping her chopsticks. Naruto. He'd tracked her down before the ceremony, using some farfetched excuse about Neji needing help with his hair to chase her attendants from the room. It was completely against tradition and Hinata had been worried that her father would change his mind about letting the blonde attend – on top of fretting over the prospect of Naruto seeing her in makeup and an expensive white kimono, her hair in elaborate plaits.

He whistled when he saw her, making her blush all the way to her scalp. "You are way too pretty for that bastard, Hinata-chan!"

Hinata was trained in the language of the perfect heiress. If she had to, she could navigate her way through dangerous waves of politics and leave the room without offending a single person – but at that moment, she didn't know what she could say to Naruto. So she stayed quiet and because he was Naruto, he cheerfully filled in for her.

After casting exaggerated glances around the empty room, he leaned in and whispered, "Kiba and I came up with a killer plan. We'll bust you out of this. Swap clothes with me."

He was so close that she could smell the cologne Sakura had made him wear. He looked uncomfortable in his suit and Hinata was sorry he'd had to get into one. She knew he was here for Sasuke, not her, but she couldn't help but feel guiltily glad that he had come to cheer her up.

"Naruto-kun, changing clothes means you'll have to walk down the aisle with my father."

Naruto pulled a face and grimaced, "Only for you."

Laughing softly, she lowered her eyes, wishing she could make herself tell him that she was, from the bottom of her heart, truly happy to hear those words. But it had never been in her place to have these feelings for him, and even now she was overdue to give them up. She couldn't be selfish.

So instead, she looked up at his clear, blue eyes and smiled. He stared back at her, his kind expression regretful. "If you don't want to marry Sasuke," he said solemnly, "I won't let anyone make you. We'll help you guys."

Hinata shook her head, still smiling, and gestured at the scrunched up obi at his waist. "May I fix your hakama?"

He let her, staring over her head in defeat. As she straightened his jacket, he murmured, "We knew you two would go along with it. You can't escape, can you?" Naruto of all people would understand what it was like to be trapped in a fate he had no control of. Some things could not be changed. They were all born into their lives. Denying hers meant that Hinata wished never to have been born, never to have met Naruto, Kiba, Shino or Kurenai-sensei. She couldn't do that even if it killed her.

Before Naruto left the room, he held out his pinky. Hinata cocked her head. "Come on, I'll make a promise with you," he said, his voice regaining its usual cheer. He grabbed her hand. "Listen to me, Hinata. I know Sasuke isn't easy to get along with but trust me – he'll take care of you. Believe it, okay?"

He'd looked so sincere, worried that she had to be convinced. Didn't he know that she had even believed him when he stood on Iruka-sensei's desk and announced that mice had seven legs and bathed in sake? Didn't he know that she had and would always believe him? How could he not?

"Don't look like that."

A tear escaped her eyelashes as pale pupils widened in shock. It slid down her face and trembled for a second before falling into her cooling ramen. She had to stare at those obsidian eyes for several moments before remembering where she was. As soon as she did, she hastily wiped her eyes in mortification. "S-Sorry, I…"

She was crying in front of Uchiha Sasuke. The worst part was she didn't even know why.

Sasuke looked uncomfortable but he did push the tissue box across the table. He waited until she had dried her eyes – which didn't take long. Over the years, Hinata had shed most of her weaknesses and armoured the rest. It took a moment like the current one to crack her composure.

"I'm sorry," she said again, after a deep, calming breath. Sasuke just nodded, shoulders stiff. Hinata tried to make her presence as small as possible while she ate. Their first trial was simply looking each other in the eye, and she was singlehandedly making it impossible.

She pursed her lip when Sasuke got up to take his empty cup to the sink. The sound of running water was loud in the silent apartment.

"I prepared the bed for you," he said. "There are blankets on the top shelf if you get cold in the middle of the night."

Hinata opened her mouth.

"Don't try to change my mind. I'm not letting a girl sleep on the couch."

His voice held a familiar tinge of childish stubbornness that she remembered from all those years ago. They were both the same, heirs who'd had their futures laid out for them from the moment they took up their clan's name. The only comfort of being unable to choose their happiness was knowing what awaited them.

How had even that tiny luxury failed them?

Hinata laid her chopsticks down, swallowing a lump in her throat. She felt she had to say something, right now, before their scars sealed up and scabbed and robbed her of the courage to reopen them. "Sasuke. I… I'm sorry things turned out this way," she said in a murmur that was only slightly better than a whisper.

He collected her cup and washed up without saying a word. Only when he was done did he answer in a strange voice, "Me too."

Hinata looked uncertainly over her shoulder. "Pardon?"

"I'm sorry too." He wiped his hands. Their eyes met. "Sorry that I'm not Itachi."

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A/N: Yes, a drabble fic! The difference between this and my NaruSaku drabble fic is that this one is solely based in one universe, around the same 'story'. And the difference between this and a regular multichapter fic? Obviously that I have a wonderful excuse to write scenes while ignoring plot, haha. There will be _some_ plot but not a lot. If some of the drabbles are confusing it's because I'm withholding information for future ones.

I'll try to keep the drabbles in chronological order but really, don't expect anything but a whole bunch of SasuHina - just don't expect good SasuHina because it's my first time writing them. Come to think of it, I'm tragic at writing Sasuke in general... What am I getting into? Please don't be afraid to tell me if you think any characters are being OOC. I always take these feedbacks to heart!

As always, there will be updates on my writing blog (link in my profile) - yes, it died for a bit but I can explain! And also as always, I hope you enjoy this new fic!


	2. Stranger

_Stranger_

It would be wrong to say that it was the sound of running water that woke her. That would be assuming she had been asleep.

Lying beneath the sheets while listening to the muffled patter of droplets against wet tiles led Hinata to vaguely realise that she would no longer be having steaming baths scented with rose petals. She couldn't say she was disappointed. Sometimes, especially after bad missions, she just wanted to step into a shower no one had spent half an hour preparing, and let certain thoughts be pounded away by the steady water on her head. Still, it was something she would have to get used to… along with sharing the noticeably smaller bathroom.

The water stopped. Hinata opened her eyes, then immediately shut them again to take a deep breath. Keeping them closed, she rolled over onto her side, grimacing slightly as the too-soft bed shifted to accommodate her body. The foreign comfort of a thick mattress left her bones feeling like they had just woken from a coma. At home, she slept on a futon rolled over hard timber that breathed frost upon her back in winter.

Right. That was something else that would have to change. "Home," Hinata whispered to herself, just as Sasuke stepped into the room.

He stopped. His eyes flickered towards her, making her thankful that she had her back to the door. The atmosphere in the room suddenly grew heavy with words neither of them felt ready to say.

Hinata did the only thing she could think of – she pretended to be asleep.

There was a long pause. Then Sasuke moved towards the bed. Hinata took deeper breaths but he stopped at the wardrobe, where he had left his uniform hanging. The room was modest and neat but right now, it felt too small for two people.

"… Hey."

She couldn't stop the surprised yelp before it rose from her vocal chords and even though she managed to muffle it with her lips, it had definitely given her away. Then again, if she read the obscure inflection in his tone correctly, Sasuke was slightly irked that she had attempted to fool him in the first place. He was an Uchiha and an ANBU – not to mention one who had a very high listing in the bingo book. It _was_ a silly thought.

"G-Good…" She stopped and cleared the stammer from her voice. It was the last thing she needed right now. "Good morning."

He muttered a greeting in reply. Hinata slowly opened her eyes again. The first thing she saw was a genin photo of Team Seven. Her gaze softened. Then came the telltale sound of a zipper coming undone.

Sasuke froze just as Hinata ducked under the blanket with a surprised squeak.

He had just made the connection between Hyuuga Hinata living with him, and his personal privacy.

In a flash, he grabbed his uniform and disappeared behind the bathroom door, mentally berating himself. He cursed under his breath as he fumbled with his vest straps. When his fingers slipped for the umpteenth time, Sasuke forced himself to take a deep breath. It was ridiculous that the simple encounter had put his nerves into S-rank adrenaline mode – but it was alright now. He had his head back on, and no one was going to find out he'd lost it for a few seconds.

He wasn't the only one who had taken the brief moment to recover. "Did you sleep well?" Her voice was so quiet it almost didn't penetrate the door between them.

"… Yes." Pause. "You?"

"Yes. Your bed is very… comfortable."

It wasn't the first lie they had told each other. To say that it was going to be the last would also be a lie.

Sasuke adjusted his gloves. "There's toast on the table." He paused to think. "Out of jam, though. I'll buy some later."

"It's okay," she replied shortly. "I can do that."

He frowned into the mirror. "It's fine."

"I'll buy it today."

"No, I will."

He thought he had won when she fell silent. He hadn't. "I will, Sasuke-kun. I… should."

He opened the door, fully changed, to face her. She had sat up in bed, her feet just touching the carpet. She had slept in one of his shirts. Sasuke had considered giving her one of Naruto's just to avoid this sight, but realised that would be cruel. He told himself it didn't matter. It was just for one night. Her belongings would officially be moved into his apartment today.

And every day, they were going to wake up to… this.

Sasuke looked at her. She stared back, hiding hesitance. It was the longest they held each other's gaze. Finally, Sasuke turned his head. "Whoever isn't busy can do the shopping," he decided, and that was the end of it.

Suddenly glad that he had a squad of idiots to meet, Sasuke grabbed his mask – if only he could slip beneath it right now – and headed for the door. He sat down on the step to put on his sandals. It took too long for him to notice that she had followed him and was leaning uncertainly against the wall, biting lightly on her lower lip.

"Do you need something?" he asked her.

She shook her head.

He nodded uncomfortably. "You just... make yourself at home then."

"Hai."

He got to his feet. Hinata opened her mouth again, but pressed her lips down before any words could form. It was weird, wasn't it? That two people lived completely separate lives under the same roof and could walk in and out of each other's without a word.

Sasuke had his hand on the door. He had always stepped through it without looking back, knowing everything would be exactly as he left it when he returned. There was nothing stopping him from doing the same today. She wouldn't blame him. He wouldn't if she did the same thing.

He glanced over his shoulder. She was still standing there, long dark hair spilling over his old top. She hadn't asked for an oversized shirt that smelt of a stranger, the same way he hadn't asked to feel intrusive for changing in his own room.

"Ittekimasu," he said self-consciously, the same instant that she blurted, "Itterashai."

A familiar silence draped over the distance between them. Then Hinata's lips slowly curved into a small smile. It didn't quite make it to her eyes but it was enough to allow Sasuke to smirk imperceptibly to himself. She used to be much more timid than this. He was once more talkative.

He did them both a favour and came back after she had gone to bed, so she wouldn't have to welcome him home.

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A/N: Oh, Sasuke. Why do I love making you look clumsy?

Ittekimasu = "I'm leaving"

Itterashai = kinda like "Have a safe trip"


	3. Taboo

_Taboo_

Sasuke's years at the Academy were to blame for his love/hate relationship with lunchtimes.

He hated it because girls saw it as a prime opportunity to tirelessly pile a citadel of 'spare snacks' on his desk and would then proceed to squabble over which one Sasuke-kun liked more, right up to the next class.

But sometimes, Sasuke would watch the clock hand tick, second by second, until the bell trilled. He would be out of the room before it had even finished ringing, sprinting down to the gates where Itachi would be waiting with a poke and the lunch he had forgotten.

These days, Sasuke mostly hated lunchtime. If anyone asked why, he would say-

"Naruto."

"Mm?"

"Leave my lunch alone."

The blonde's hand froze and twitched inches from his teammate's bento. He glanced up at Sasuke's face and met that oh-so-familiar scowl. Damn it, he had his eyes closed just two seconds ago! "Oh come on, I didn't let you starve when _you_ didn't have food. Which was, like, every single day before you got-"

A glare from each side of his head threatened to set Naruto's hair aflame. He clamped his mouth shut so quickly his teeth clicked. Sasuke, he could deal with – but death wishes from Sasuke _and _Neji? Not quite. "Okay, 'm' word is taboo," Naruto vowed breathlessly, placating each man with the widest grin he could manage.

They shot him another dirty look. Swallowing, Naruto sank a little lower. By the time he realised that saving himself meant the two doujutsu users now had a direct line of fire at each other, the air above his head had already dropped five degrees. They had to be the most dysfunctional ANBU squad ever. At least Sai was on an individual mission and incapable of making things worse.

"Uchiha."

"Hyuuga."

Neji finished his last sushi and laid his chopsticks neatly in the container before looking pointedly at Sasuke's lunch. "How are Hinata-sama's rice balls?" It was the most lethal food inquiry Naruto had ever heard.

"Fine." Single word replies from Sasuke were the norm. Then again, they hadn't encountered a single disturbance on patrol yet and that was a definite sign that it was not a normal day. Sure enough, Sasuke took another bite out of his onigiri and after chewing for a bit, added almost unconsciously, "It's sweet."

"Awww," Naruto grinned. Then he flipped back to avoid the swing Sasuke swiped at his head.

The dark-haired man scowled. "I meant how it _tasted_, dobe."

"Yeah, yeah. Well, feel free to donate it to me if you don't like it."

"Get your own. Ask Sakura."

"I wish," Naruto grumbled. "Sakura-chan won't do something that girlfriend-like."

"Right. She's not your girlfriend."

Naruto's ears were pink. "I'm working on it, alright? Just because _you're_ m-"

Neji cleared his throat. Naruto flinched, expecting another strike for nearly letting slip the forbidden word. But Neji's gaze was on Sasuke. "Before she passed away," he said levelly, "Hinata-sama's mother made onigiri for the children in our clan. She would hide sugar candy in them."

No one said anything. A nod was the only sign that Sasuke had been listening. He finished his rice ball without looking at his teammates. It wasn't just the sweet texture; the rice was too damp and made the seaweed flake and cling to the spaces between his fingers. That girl obviously didn't use the kitchen often – but that was to be expected. She was a princess of the Hyuuga clan.

There was still time before their break ended. Sasuke got up. "I'm going to buy something."

"Groceries," Neji guessed before he had even taken a step.

"Groceries," Naruto agreed with a nod. "Because Hinata's coming back today. How do we know?" he asked rhetorically, taking the words out of Sasuke's twitching mouth. He shrugged. "Oh, let's see. Neji?"

The taller man crossed his arms. "You only bring lunch when she's out on a mission. By the time you're done with your last rice ball, she's back."

Sasuke scowled. "The amount of attention you idiots pay to my lunch is remarkable."

"The amount of attention Hinata pays to how much you eat is even more remarkable," Naruto pointed out, his voice bordering on sombre.

Sasuke's frown carved deeper into his brow. He knew that remaining silent was as good as agreeing, but what could he say to that? He knew Naruto was right. He had suspected since the first lunch he'd found wrapped on the kitchen table, waiting for him. By the second, he knew it was no coincidence.

"Regroup at the tower in half an hour," he said evasively as he turned away. "It's about time the Hokage gave us another mission."

He heard Naruto push himself off the brick wall they had been resting against, and instinctively knew what his next words would be even before they reached his ears: "Because Hinata's coming back today?"

Sasuke's restrained sigh hissed out through clenched teeth. "It's got nothing to do with that."

"So it's a coincidence that you want a mission as soon as she returns from one," Neji deduced.

_She's doing the same thing,_ Sasuke wanted to retort, but it wasn't like their friends didn't already know that.

Naruto shrugged. "Look, we know you guys have a right to avoid each other until you're ready. It's only fair. But Hinata's doing her best and if you don't give her signs that it's okay to look each other in the eye, this is just going to go on forever until… well, it _won't_ end. That's all I'm saying."

It wasn't like Sasuke didn't know that. He wasn't a fool. He had come to those conclusions many times before his teammates had. He wouldn't be their captain if Naruto and Neji didn't think he would realise what was happening around him without someone pointing it out. They were reminding, not enlightening him. Well, they had succeeded – but Sasuke wasn't going to tell them that.

Ignoring the women who nudged their companions and pointed at the ANBU who had just walked into the supermarket, Sasuke made for the deli. He'd had to get used to the gossip after moving out of his clan's compound and being faced with feeding himself. That had been two years ago and everyone had grown used to his patronage by now. But after Hinata… moved in… the attention was back on Sasuke. He sighed impatiently. At least he had his mask on.

Strangely, he wasn't the only one attracting the shoppers' attention today. As he neared the fruit displays, Sasuke felt like he had stepped into some sort of hushed bubble. Then, as the housewives began giggling and flitting scandalous looks at him, that feeling morphed into the sensation of having stepped on a landmine.

A walking landmine.

Biting off a curse, Sasuke flickered two aisles away just as Inuzuka Kiba came around the corner. "Honestly, Hinata, we just got back and you're already buying pineapples?"

"They're in season." That soft, patient voice. Goddammit. "Besides, Akamaru likes them."

Sasuke ducked behind a cart of caramel cookies on sale, expletives ricocheting off his cranium the entire time. How could he have missed Akamaru waiting outside? The canine was the size of a freaking Akimichi! He blamed Naruto and Neji.

He should be leaving this instant. Hinata and Kiba were both jounin but Sasuke wasn't just an ANBU for show. If he left this instant, before they found his chakra signature – and heaven forbid _Kiba_ caught his trail – he could vanish without being noticed. Sasuke had his eyes on the exit when Kiba spoke up again.

"Are you sure you're okay, Hinata?"

"Of course. It was only a courier mission."

"Yeah, a really boring one too. But I was talking about living with Sasuke."

That exit looked very good.

"O-Oh, um, it's alright…"

"Says the one doing the groceries right after a mission. I bet that bastard's using you like a slave. He is, isn't he?"

At that, Sasuke was tempted to unmask his chakra and even let spike a few waves of murderous intent. It was probably a good thing Hinata stepped in while he was still entertaining the thought.

"He really isn't, Kiba. Sasuke-kun is very considerate." Her voice softened at those words, but hearing them was still a surprise. "He leaves money every time he goes on a mission."

"Maybe that's for you to spend on yourself, not pineapples." For once in his life, Sasuke agreed with Kiba.

"I can't do that." He pictured Hinata shaking her head, like the thought hadn't occurred to her at all. "I… I live there too."

"Huh. Fine, groceries are okay. But you bought him new _arm guards?_"

"Th-That's only because I noticed they were wearing out…!"

Sasuke blinked and glanced down at the metal guards sewn into his navy gloves. What else had she noticed about him?

"Geez, you're unbelievable, Hinata. Swear you'll tell me if he does anything – and I mean _anything_ – to you."

"I will… a-ah! Look Kiba, the biscuits are on sale!"

By the time they reached the cart, Sasuke was gone.

The next day, Hinata woke up in an empty apartment again. Sasuke's squad was halfway to Lightning.

When she walked into the kitchen, she found a single rice ball sitting on the table. At first she thought it was one of hers, but when she picked it up she realised that it was made by larger hands. It looked surprisingly compact, solid, and was somewhat heavy.

For several moments, Hinata just stood there holding the onigiri. Then she smiled lightly and carefully took a small bite. She coughed.

It was so salty.


	4. Hypothetical

_Hypothetical_

She sensed him coming long before he rounded the corner. He didn't break his stride when he saw her, but she remembered how he had the first time they ran into each other outside the Hokage's office. He had been waiting for a mission assignment; she had just returned from one.

"Hello, Sasuke… kun." Hinata's voice faltered slightly when she noticed the streaks of blood on his white mask. It was the first time she had seen him like this, the uniform she hung up for him caked with crimson.

He noticed her staring. "It's not mine," he said, shrugging it off. At his voice, her eyes rose to his face – his mask. Pausing, he took it off, shaking out his dirt-matted hair. "ANBU agent Hawk, reporting," he said to the Hokage's chuunin assistant by the office doors.

Hinata shuffled along the waiting bench, even though she was already sitting on the edge of it. Sasuke found the ball in his court. He wasn't about to sit right next to her, especially not when he reeked of blood. Sitting at the opposite end seemed too distant and would probably encourage the aide, who was pretending to be immersed in paperwork, to spread nonsense gossip. His brow twitching, Sasuke planted himself in the middle of the bench with a little more force than necessary, making the wooden legs rattle. He was running on too little sleep to be over thinking.

The aide shuffled some papers on her desk. The sound seemed to reverberate. That was what happened when Sasuke and Hinata were alone; silence followed them. Sasuke had learnt that Hinata could practically make herself invisible; he usually had to rely on her chakra presence to tell if she was home. In a way, it made it easier for the two of them to share the apartment; they couldn't pretend but they didn't need to be reminded. They came together when they had to and made small talk when they both happened to be home for mealtime, but those exchanges held the value of a half-hearted greeting on crowded streets. They communicated marginally better with silence.

Yet today, Sasuke found himself clearing his throat. "Summoned for a mission?"

Hinata snapped out of her vacant gaze at the opposite wall and blinked at him. When his question sank in, she shook her head. "I'm seeing Tsunade-sama about my medical ninjutsu progress. I think she also wants me to deliver a message to my father."

Hyuuga Hiashi. Sasuke was not up to dealing with that man today. "Medical jutsu. Sakura mentioned something about you learning."

"It's very useful. I'm far behind Sakura-san, though." It probably wasn't the best time to notice it, but Sasuke idly realised that Hinata did not flush easily around him. Even though she was far more confident than she had once been, any personal attention – especially from Naruto – would knock her out of her comfort zone. Yet around him, she was quiet but calm, self-conscious but controlled.

"Sasuke-kun?" Now she was looking at him, her lavender eyes on his face. "Are you okay?"

Coming to his senses, Sasuke straightened up and flexed his tense neck muscles. He had zoned out there. A two hour nap in a hard tree tended to do that. "Just tired," he muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Did you say something?"

She smiled patiently. "How was your mission?"

"Fine." It was his standard response to any such inquiry. Anything else would mean he had screwed up. Which hardly happened – and if it ever did, no one but Naruto and Sakura dared to ask.

Hinata knew these facts as well as everyone else. Except she didn't turn her gaze away from his, like she was expecting him to continue. Eventually, Sasuke sighed. "A-rank missing-nin. Chased him for twenty-seven hours."

"How much was he worth?"

That got him smirking. Sasuke played deaf to Naruto's bounty boasts but the truth was he was just as proud of his own prizes. "I'll show you," he said. He retrieved his battered copy of the bingo book from his pouch and flipped to a folded-down page in the middle. "This guy." Hinata leaned in. "Cocky one. He was stupid enough to look into my eyes."

She glanced up at him. "I'm glad you're alright," she said quietly.

Sasuke just shrugged. He ripped out the page and set it aflame. An eliminated target was a useless one. The orange embers flickered in Hinata's pale pupils. "How much are you worth, Sasuke-kun?" she asked curiously.

Sasuke's eyebrow arched. It was an unexpected question. At the same time, it put a small grin on his face. Sai had said the expression looked as creepy as a grandmother peeking in the men's bath; he made a similar comment every time Sasuke did something other than glare. He had a reason to be proud though. Flipping towards the front of the book, Sasuke stopped on a ten month old photo of himself and tapped it.

As Hinata stared at the figure, it suddenly hit Sasuke that his head seemed clearer, lighter. It was a sensation he commonly got after Sakura talked him through a post-mission medical check up. After spending treacherously long hours alone among the enemy, balancing their life and their opponent's in their own hands, some ANBU craved the simplicity of hearing another human's voice. Sasuke had never considered himself one of them, but right now Hinata's gentle conversation was kind of soothing.

"Hey." He gestured at the bingo book. "Are you in it?"

Hinata hesitated, looking embarrassed. She gave an evasive nod. He wasn't surprised; she was the future head of the Hyuuga clan, after all. But he _was_ surprised when he started from the back and hadn't found her page by the halfway point of the book. "You're an A-class?"

"Um, closer to… high B?" Sasuke skipped a dozen pages into that range. "M-My lineage is expensive," Hinata added hastily.

"So is mine." He had found her page, which was much closer to his than he had thought. Sasuke studied her from the corner of his eye. High B. Her stats said otherwise. Being the Hyuuga heir no doubt raised her bounty, but family name alone did not make a mid A-rank shinobi. Hyuuga Hinata was not a pushover. Sasuke had never thought of her as such but realising the price on her head changed his view of her somewhat.

They both looked up as the office doors swung open. Shizune carefully stepped out, arms laden with papers that almost reached her brow. Tonton trotted at her heel. "Next," Tsunade's voice rang out.

Her assistant looked over at the waiting bench. "Uchiha-san, Tsunade-sama will see you now."

Sasuke got to his feet. His back ached slightly, the muscle behind his shoulders burning. He really needed to lie down. And preferably stay down for the next forty-eight hours.

The chuunin looked at him, then back at her list. Sasuke frowned, sensing something amiss. Then he realised the chuunin had her eyes on Hinata.

She came to the same realisation a beat after him. Confusion masked her expression. Then her eyes fell. An ANBU was never summoned by name. "O-Oh," she said quietly. Her gaze went distant for a few seconds. They were only slightly more focused as they met Sasuke's. She smiled forcedly. "You can go first, Sasuke-kun. Your report is more important."

Sasuke looked back at her, his eyes narrowing minutely. Then he strode through the open office doors.

Tsunade didn't look like she was expecting an ANBU report when he stopped in front of her desk. She caught a glimpse of Hinata on the bench before the doors closed. "I didn't think you were interested in medical jutsu, Uchiha-san," she said amusedly.

Sasuke ignored the jibe. "I want to discuss a hypothetical situation with you."

The Sannin's brow inched higher, this time with interest. She reclined in her armchair. "Shoot."

"Hypothetically, the heirs of clan A and clan B have a political marriage arrangement. The heir of clan B takes up her husband's, clan A's, name."

"As per tradition."

"Hypothetically-"

"Hypothetically," Tsunade cut in, her eyes on Sasuke's, "an autonomous decision to allow the heir of clan B to retain her clan name would raise controversy. Firstly, clan A will not be pleased. Secondly, clan B will suspect you are looking for something to hold over them. Thirdly, it will seem like you are renouncing your relation to her, which will create direct friction between both clans."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "It was _hypothetical_."

"And I'm impressed you considered it." Tsunade smiled faintly as he scowled. "I know what you're thinking, Sasuke, and I would do the same thing. But you're looking at a politically unviable move and as Hokage, I advise you to leave it alone. Hinata knows this. She won't mind."

Wrong. She did, and no one understood more than Sasuke. The two of them had been born, raised and defined by their clan. Their name chained them to unwanted destinies. But they had spent their lives growing into those cuffs and snapping that chain would leave them with nowhere else to go. It was as cruel as it was inevitable.

Their names were the reason she had become chained to him.

"Hypothetically," Sasuke said, his voice detached, "you could have stopped them."

Tsunade made a snorting sound. "And lose control of two of the village's most influential clans, forcing the council to become unpopularly totalitarian in order to keep the other clans in line." She laced her fingers together. "Yes, hypothetically I could have stopped them." She paused. "But you're only asking this because you know, hypothetical or not, that I couldn't have saved Itachi."

His eyes flashed, jaw clenching. "You could have."

"Maybe, eventually, I could have saved your brother's life, but that would have been condemning him. He chose."

Sasuke breathed loudly through his nose, eyes closed. Everything wound back to this, always. He was snared right in the middle of it. Tightening his grip on the cold ceramic, he lifted his mask to his face. "ANBU agent Hawk, reporting. A-rank missing-nin eliminated."

Tsunade's hazel eyes brushed over his mask as if attempting to penetrate it. She didn't try for long. "Casualties?"

"None."

Her pen scratched across the paper. Without looking up, she said, "I meant it, you know. I'm impressed, Sasuke." He didn't say anything. She signed the document, stamped it and closed the folder. "Dismissed. Go get some sleep. You look dead on your feet."

Hinata was waiting by the door when Sasuke stepped through. She kept her eyes on the floor. He didn't look at her, not even when he called out to her halfway down the hall.

"Catch."

Hinata reflexively spun and snatched the ball of paper from the air. Puzzled, she opened it. Her eyes widened. "Sasuke?" she questioned uncertainly.

He kept walking. "That's your bounty, not Uchiha Hinata's. Remember that." He disappeared from her sight.

The chuunin assistant looked bewildered by the exchange. "Uh, the Hokage is ready for you, Uchiha-san."

Hinata looked down at her own face, staring back from the crumpled page. A few moments passed. Then she smoothed out the creases, carefully folded the paper, and slipped it into her pocket. She smiled at the chuunin. "I'm ready too."

* * *

A/N: These oneshots are actually turning out to be longer than I expected. You can tell I'm in exam period by how much I write. How I wish my mind could detach from my willpower and study for that psychology exam...


	5. Sandbox

_Sandbox_

She met him when she was six years old, on the first day of spring.

That morning, she spent an hour being fussed over by branch house members. They fitted her into a brand new kimono that was too long for her, not to mention uncomfortably stiff and made her neck itch. Hinata didn't say anything because Hanabi was being dressed as well and her sister was already squirming enough to make the servants desperate.

Their father came into the room donned in a particularly ornate hakama. By now, Hinata was certain that they were being prepared for an Occasion, which usually meant she was going to be judged by important adults until Hanabi accidentally did something amazing to save her from the spotlight. An Occasion also meant that their father expected even stricter obedience and behaviour than usual, and when Hiashi noticed that Hanabi was not yet dressed, his warning frown put Hinata on alert.

"G-Good morning, Father," she managed to greet with less stammer than usual. Hiashi's hard gaze shifted to her. It was rude to evade his eyes, she knew, but Hinata did it so often that her father practically expected it from her.

Those eyes shifted away when Hanabi made a loud sound of protest as her hair knotted against the comb.

"Hanabi," their father said in his level, no-nonsense voice, like he expected a one year old child to realise the severity of his disapproval. "Don't make a scene. We have to leave soon."

"Come h-here, Hanabi," Hinata said quickly, gesturing for someone to hand her the comb. "Are we going somewhere, Father?" she asked as she carefully smoothed out her sister's hair.

Hiashi adjusted his sleeves. His eyes held a strangely distracted tinge. "The park," he said shortly.

Hinata blinked, the comb pausing. "The park?" she repeated in puzzlement, but then Hanabi began to fidget and Hinata had to stop her from ruining her kimono.

Hinata's family hadn't been to the park together since her mother died. Hanabi had never been to the park at all. She perked up as they neared the bright equipment, but because her father was carrying her and she could feel the rising air of formality, she stayed quiet. Hinata was relieved; she had gotten into a lot of trouble for misbehaving at an Occasion before.

There were two adults at the park. They were just standing there, looking out of place next to the slide. Hinata's eyes were drawn to the beautiful woman with long dark hair. She looked like a mother. She gripped her father's hand tighter. She was surprised to feel him gently squeeze back.

By the time they reached the park, Hinata had practically disappeared behind her father. She had been reprimanded for acting so unsightly before, but the unknown man's eyes were stonier than Hiashi's at his worst, and they intimidated her.

"Fugaku," her father greeted. He nodded politely at the woman. "Mikoto."

"Hiashi." The other man's voice was low and gravelly. When Hinata peered up, she was startled to find him looking back at her. She thought she saw his eyes flash red. Shivering, she pressed her face into her father's leg and was surprised for the second time when he let her.

Mikoto leaned in. "Is this Hanabi-chan?" she asked, waving at Hinata's sister. Hanabi blinked back, and then tentatively lowered her head in deep bow as she had been taught. Mikoto's smile widened. Then she kneeled down to Hinata's level. "So you must be Hinata-chan," she smiled.

Not letting go of her father, she hesitantly bowed. "O-Ohayo gozaimasu…" she mumbled.

Mikoto beamed back and looked up at her husband. "See, Fugaku? I told you meeting at the park would be a good idea. Imagine how shy she would be in front of the clan."

Nodding vaguely, Fugaku looked at Hiashi. "She seems obedient."

"She has a stronger will than most think. She may surprise you." Hinata didn't see why Hiashi felt the need to defend her, but she was too stunned to hear her father's compliment to think beyond that.

Mikoto held a hand out to Hinata. "Shall we leave the men to talk?"

Hinata uncertainly looked up at her father. He nodded, and handed Hanabi to Mikoto. Now, Hinata noticed that there were children on the play equipment. An older boy was watching a younger one swing across the monkey bars. Mikoto called out to them. "Itachi, I'd like you to meet someone."

One of the boys came up to his mother. He was taller than Hinata, older, his hair longer and eyes more serious. "Itachi, why don't you play…" Mikoto stopped and seemed to backtrack with a regretful look on her face. "Why don't you talk with Hinata while I get Sasuke?" Hinata opened her mouth but Mikoto let Hanabi down and walked off, leaving her with the strange boy.

They stood facing each other in silence. His gaze was calm. Hinata stared profusely at the grass, squeezing the sides of her kimono anxiously. He didn't say anything. Gradually, she began to sneak nervous glances at him. Either he didn't notice or he was patient enough to let her slowly analyse him.

Just when Hinata thought she was ready to meet his eyes, she felt a tug at her side. Hanabi, ever conscious of what she wanted, pointed at the sandbox.

"Oh, u-um…" Hinata looked around. Would she embarrass her father if she allowed Hanabi to roll around in the sand in front of important guests? Surely she would embarrass him by asking…

"What's your name?" His quiet voice interrupted her frantic thoughts. Hinata's head snapped around in shock. But the boy was looking down at Hanabi, which was just as well because Hinata didn't think she could untangle her tongue enough to be coherent. His eyes, previously blank, held a soft kindness in them.

Hinata's sister looked fearlessly back at him. "Hanabi." It was one of two words she could utter fluently at request. The other was 'Hyuuga'.

He nodded. "Let's go play, Hanabi."

Hinata cringed when her sister held up her arms to him. "H-Hanabi, I'll-"

"It's alright," he said, bending down to pick her up. Hanabi instantly wrapped her arms around his neck. Somehow, that made Hinata's fears abate slightly. If Hanabi had let him hold her, then this Itachi person couldn't be bad.

As Itachi turned towards the sandbox, Hinata glanced uncertainly back at her father. He was deep in conversation with Fugaku. His expression was calm as always but Hinata thought there was a degree of strain in her father's composed face.

"Hinata." The sound of her name uttered in Itachi's soft voice made Hinata squeak. She clapped her hands to her mouth, but he just smiled slightly. "It's alright," he said again, and even though she didn't know _what_ he guaranteed would be alright, she believed him.

She followed him. It wasn't easy. His legs were longer than hers, and each stride he took required two quick ones on her part. The too-long kimono flapped around Hinata's heels as she found herself struggling to keep up. Itachi was still three steps ahead of her. It was only a matter of time before she tripped on the fabric.

But when she did – with a startled yelp – she fell straight into Itachi, her brow knocking into his shoulder as his hand fastened around her elbow. Hinata was too shocked to even pull away, simply breathing fast into Itachi's chest. How had he closed the distance between them so quickly?

Hanabi reached down and pulled a strand of her sister's hair. "Play," she complained.

That woke Hinata enough to jump away as if shocked. Not daring to look anywhere near Itachi, she folded into a mortified bow and stammered out an endless stream of apologies. "I'm s-s-sorry I'm so cl-clum-"

"Hinata-san," Itachi interrupted. She immediately closed her mouth. What he said next was the last thing she could expect. "I'd like to see your eyes."

Hinata stared, bewildered, at her feet. Her eyes? "I-I'm not very g-good with the Byakugan yet… but H-Hanabi-"

For the second time, he moved so quickly and silently she didn't have time to react. One moment he wasn't even in her line of vision – the next he was crouched in front of her and filling up her gaze with his dark, kind eyes. Hinata held her breath.

"_These_ eyes," he said lightly. He smiled when those eyes widened. "Are you alright?"

"Yes… th-thank you."

"I'm sorry. My brother would rather run than tell me I'm walking too fast."

"O-Oh…"

They set off again. Not once did she have to ask him to slow down.

Itachi lowered Hanabi into the sandbox. She simply sat in the middle of it, unsure how to proceed. She experimentally ran her small fingers through the grains, and seemed immediately fascinated.

Hinata leaned over the edge of the box. "Here, Hanabi," she called gently. Drawing Hanabi's attention, she scooped the sand in front of her sister and patted it with her hands, making a small mound. "See?"

Hanabi blinked at it, her head tilted. Then she slapped it down with her palm, splashing sand. Hinata winced but her sister giggled, and she began to smile to herself.

She didn't realise Itachi had crouched down beside her until his hair brushed against her shoulder. Without a word, his slender fingers shifted the sand. Hanabi watched with wide, curious eyes. Hinata did too. Itachi worked smoothly, each move precise and purposeful. When he had finished, he looked up. "What is this, Hanabi?"

She frowned at it, her brow pinching. She was extraordinarily intelligent for her age, something that pleased their father and the clan elders, but at the end of the day she was still just a toddler. "Hub," she said finally, looking so pleased with herself that Hinata felt bad laughing.

"House, Hanabi."

"Hub!"

"Okay." Hinata wiped a smudge of sand from her sister's face.

Her hand almost brushed Itachi's as he patted Hanabi lightly on the head. "Make your own one now," he told her. She grinned back. Hanabi rarely smiled like that.

As Hanabi moved away, Hinata was left sitting alone with Itachi. She fought the urge to fidget, even though the silence didn't feel as awkward as she thought it would. Itachi exuded some sort of security. He had been so unnecessarily patient with her that Hinata felt she should be the one reaching out this time.

She swallowed. "Um…" He turned to her. He didn't look irritated at all. Feeling slightly more confident, Hinata asked, "Do you go to the Academy, I-Itachi-san?"

She thought she saw something shift in those eyes, but then Itachi shook his head and she became distracted by his answer. "No, I'm an ANBU."

Hinata's eyes grew wide. He didn't look like he was joking. "Oh. W-Wow."

Her reaction somehow made Itachi smile again. It was brief, though, fading as he looked over to where their fathers were conversing quietly. "Do you dislike me?" he asked suddenly.

The word couldn't make it out of her lips fast enough. "N-No!" When she realised she was being rude, she flushed and mumbled, "I think you're very… very kind." What she couldn't say was that he was the first person in a long time to look at her in a way that made her feel like he actually _saw_ her.

Itachi watched Hanabi. "Our clans have had tentative ties for generations. I am an Uchiha. You are a Hyuuga." He paused. "Do you understand, Hinata-san?"

Something about Itachi's tone reminded Hinata of a conversation she remembered overhearing between her mother and father, when they thought she had been asleep. Her mother hadn't been happy about something. His voice ringing with finality and faint resignation, her father had said, "If not Uchiha, it will simply be another man." He'd paused as well, before murmuring, "Do you understand?"

_Did_ she understand? She didn't know. She opened her mouth, but the chance to ask never came.

"Nii-san!" Itachi's brother was running up to them. "Nii-san, Father wants to talk to you." He faltered when he saw Hinata. He looked questioningly up at Itachi, only to have his brother poke his forehead.

"Introduce yourself, Sasuke."

Sasuke rubbed his brow with a small scowl. "I was just about to!" He glanced at Hinata. Then he seemed to shrug. "Hi."

Hinata hesitantly raised her eyes. "Hello…" From a distance Sasuke looked a lot like his brother, but now Hinata was beginning to see that Sasuke's eyes were different to Itachi's. Her mother had told her that the eyes did not lie. Itachi's eyes hid things. Sasuke's let people see him.

He was also more talkative than his brother. "Are you starting at the Academy next month too?" When Hinata slowly nodded, he began to grin. "Cool. I'm going to get really good grades and graduate early like Itachi did. "

He had the kind of confidence her father wished of her. Realising it made Hinata hesitate. Itachi noticed.

"I think you should concentrate more on running, little brother."

"Eh? From what?"

"Girls."

"_Girls? _Why would they chase me?"

"They will."

"Why? Did they chase _you_, nii-san?"

She met him when she was six years old, on the first day of spring. She never forgot the sound of his laughter.

* * *

A/N: Exams are finally over! One month holiday, here I come! That said, these oneshots may slow down as I work on other stories. Hope you've enjoyed the ones so far.


	6. Messenger

_Messenger_

Sasuke had been caught in hopeless ambushes before – but this was the first time he had been welcomed home by a paper airplane clipping his ear as it shot out of his apartment.

Hinata entered the scene to find him staring bluntly at the kid in his living room. "I know who he is," he said when she apologetically tried to introduce the boy. "I know," he repeated, lighter, when she hesitantly began to explain why her old jounin instructor's child was bouncing on his couch.

Hinata had looked at him, her eyes weary, lips slightly parted. But she didn't say anything about the matter, and neither did he. She did protest when he tasked himself with preparing dinner but the restless kid didn't aid her argument. Someone needed to keep an eye on him and it obviously wasn't going to be Sasuke.

Hinata, the boy and his planes retreated to her room while Sasuke washed vegetables. He could hear the kid through the walls. The bubbly laughter made the apartment livelier than the two of them had ever managed. And yet the silence in the air was heavier than usual.

"You're not ready to play with kunai yet," he could hear Hinata patiently reasoning.

"Please? I won't tell Mummy, I promise. Pleeeeaaseee?"

A piece of broccoli fell free into the sink as the knife cleaved into it. Sasuke wasn't a stranger to the gnawing sensation that came with the feeling that he should say something. He wasn't new to the self-annoyance of finding nothing useful to say, either. How did Naruto do it so easily? Where was the idiot when he actually needed him?

"W-Why don't we play shogi? Didn't you say Shikamaru taught you a new move? I think there's a board in the living room…"

Naruto was probably at Ichiraku's right now, filling the stand with his carefree chatter. Their friends had their own lives – unlike them. Only in moments like the current one did these realisations fully sink in. Hinata couldn't trade him for Kiba or Ino or anyone else she could guiltlessly unburden herself to. Sasuke was the only one here, and even as the years dragged on, he would still be the only one.

Sasuke heard tiny feet wandering down the hallway. He pretended not to notice the little boy watching him with curious eyes. He continued to silently whisk eggs while the clueless kid poked around the television, even though Hinata had specifically told him to check under the coffee table. By the time he had finished whisking, the boy was aimlessly looking for the shogi set in the fridge.

"The coffee table, kid," Sasuke said finally.

The boy stopped and looked blankly up at him.

Raising an eyebrow, Sasuke jerked his head towards the middle of the room. "That table on the rug."

The boy's face lightened with an epiphany, before gradually puckering into a pouting frown. "But there's no coffee on it."

Sasuke looked at him. "… How old are you?"

Grinning, he raised both hands. Eight. Sasuke was pretty sure he meant four. Shaking his head, he picked up the knife again.

"Are you Hinata-neechan's boyfriend?"

He almost chopped off two fingers. He was pretty sure he heard a squeak from Hinata's room. "Godda – no! I – what – argh, _coffee table."_

Giggling, the kid scrambled off. Sasuke continued muttering incoherently under his breath.

Itachi had been good with children. He could somehow treat them like equals and they adored him for it. Itachi would know the right things to say. Hinata would probably talk to him instead of avoiding his eye and pretending she was dealing fine on her own when she clearly wasn't. It seemed Sasuke was always standing in places where Itachi had been – and now, should be.

The knife cut through the mushroom and thudded into the board.

"Hey kid." The silly child had tried to tiptoe past him. Sasuke used to do that, until he was old enough to realise that Itachi had been awake each time he crept into his brother's room.

"Satoru."

Sasuke's thoughts dissipated as he looked over his shoulder. "What?"

The boy stared back at him. "Sa-to-ru," he insisted, rattling the shogi pieces as he emphasised the syllables.

"I know your name, kid," Sasuke retorted.

More indignant rattling. "Satoru!"

Sasuke raised his eyes to the ceiling and reminded himself that he was talking to a four year old. He liked to think he had been much more mature at that age. "Fine. Satoru?"

"Yeah?"

He nodded at the tissue box on the counter. "Take that with you."

"Why?"

"Give it to Hinata."

"Why?"

Sasuke took a deep breath in case inappropriate words escaped with it. Four year old. He was talking to a four year old. Explaining was far too crude, especially when Hinata could undoubtedly hear them. "It's a secret," he ended up grunting exasperatedly.

He didn't expect Satoru to perk up. "Like a mission?" he asked excitedly.

Sasuke blinked. "I guess so." It was slightly more in his comfort zone. He had been in a genin team with _Naruto_, after all. "Do you know what a C-rank is?"

The kid pounced on it with enough enthusiasm to rival Naruto. "Is this a C-rank?"

"Exactly. Deliver those tissues, got it?"

Satoru stood ramrod straight and saluted. "Aye, boss!"

Not Naruto, Sasuke realised. Konohamaru must have been babysitting this one.

Shaking his head, Sasuke took out the wok and started the stove. He hadn't even poured the oil when Satoru came skidding into the kitchen. He had brought the tissue box back. "Nee-chan says she doesn't need it, boss," he reported seriously.

Sasuke glanced down the hallway. Of course. Hinata knew what it was like to be a shinobi. Precious people would return bloody with wounds, over and over again. She wouldn't break simply because looking at Kurenai's son forced her to remember that her mentor was bleeding out in the operation theatre. No, she would fold planes with the boy, evade his deadly questions and hold him when he cried for his mother, smiling for him the entire time.

Sasuke knew all this, which only made his gesture that much more stupid. "Idiot," he muttered to himself. "What, you'd rather she cried?"

Unfortunately, he had forgotten about the kid. "Are you being mean to Hinata-neechan?" Satoru demanded. "I'll kick you – even if you're my boss!"

"I haven't laid a finger on her, kid," Sasuke scowled. But then, they didn't need blows to hurt each other, did they?

Turning back to the stove, he realised Satoru hadn't moved. "You haven't paid me for my mission," he complained.

Sasuke felt like knocking his head into something hard. An ANBU captain's plans were backfiring off a toddler. And if the brat was anything like Naruto and Konohamaru, there would be hell if Sasuke refused him.

Sighing, he opened the cupboard and poked around until he came across an opened packet of mints – another souvenir from Naruto. "Here. But just one."

Satoru grinned and bounced on his toes. "Do I get another one for completing Nee-chan's mission?"

Sasuke's eyebrow rose. So Hinata had played along for the kid's sake – of course she would. He looked at Satoru's wide smile, and then dropped two more mints in his hand. "One is for Hinata," he said before the boy could get too excited. "This one is a B-rank mission."

The breathless expression of responsibility on Satoru's face tilted the edges of Sasuke's lips up. Children were so innocently simple.

When Satoru didn't return immediately, Sasuke figured that was the end of it. He tossed the ingredients into the wok and stirred them. It had only been weeks since the two of them stopped finding escape in missions, leaving them with enough time together to share meals. Hinata used to spend hours preparing their first dinners. When Sasuke came home, he would find an impeccable feast on the table and Hinata sheepishly hiding fingers wrapped with cuts that she hadn't gotten from training. For a while after that, Hinata would be the one coming home to a made dinner – stir fry that had obviously taken less than fifteen minutes. It took a painstaking amount of hints but the message eventually got across.

"Delivery for the boss!"

The kid was really enjoying this. Satoru was back and waving something up at him – a tiny paper crane, folded from the mint wrapper. Sasuke stared at it for a long time. "Pull its tail," he told Satoru.

By now, he expected the curious "Why?"

"Just try it."

Satoru didn't need to be told twice. He pinched the crane at the bottom and tugged on its pointed tail. At first, nothing happened. Frowning in concentration, Satoru pulled harder. The carefully folded creases crumpled slightly, and then the crane's wings began to move. Satoru's incredulous laughter filled the room.

Sasuke glanced up as Hinata stepped into the kitchen. He watched as she knelt down beside Satoru and smiled while he flapped the crane in her face. "Teach me, teach me!" he begged eagerly.

Hinata's lavender eyes found Sasuke's. She smiled slowly, surprising him. "Sasuke-kun can show you," she replied.

Sasuke twitched, but Satoru was looking imploringly at him with those ridiculous eyes. "Only if you eat your vegetables," he grumbled.

Hinata laughed as Satoru blanched comically. Sasuke smirked to himself and switched off the stove. He reached for a bowl only to find that Hinata had beaten him to it. He glanced at her, and then began to fill it. "How old were we when he showed us how to make that?" he asked quietly.

"I think we were seven. It was storming." A pause as Hinata remembered, and smiled. "We were scared of the thunder."

Sasuke snorted. "_You_ were scared of the thunder."

"You didn't let go of your brother the entire time," Hinata reminded him, her eyes twinkling.

"Says the one who didn't stop crying."

That made her blush. "I-I did stop! I stopped…" Her voice softened as her eyes fell on Satoru. "I stopped when Itachi-niisan made that crane."

Sasuke didn't say anything. It was hard to believe that ten years ago, thunderstorms had been their greatest fear. He wondered what Itachi had seen when he looked at them, naive children who believed that paper birds could actually fly. It hadn't been so long ago that they used to believe in happy endings.

Then Hinata shook her head and Sasuke cleared his throat, leaving the memories where they belonged. "Let's eat."

* * *

A/N: The funny thing is I can make the flapping cranes and not the traditional ones... even though there's only one step of difference.

I wanted to make sure that it's clear this is not what I would call a multichapter story. These chapters are all individual oneshots centered around the same situation. It's pretty much a collection of chronological scenes, but without the plot development that would make it an actual story like, say, Precious People. So don't expect a fully fledged story because I don't want you guys to be disappointed, haha. The 'plot' most of you guys are sensing is actually the backstory, but I'm thinking about giving these oneshots a general plot direction to develop towards. Then again, I'm mostly winging this as I go. Bad habit!


	7. Fireworks

_Fireworks_

There were certain days where Konoha was renowned not for being a prosperous shinobi village, but for its festivals and fireworks. Today was one of them.

"Argh, slipped again!"

"What the hell is this?"

"Stop _swimming_, you – damn it!"

Hinata laughed as Kiba's ninth poi broke, the goldfish zipping back to freedom. Akamaru curiously poked his head closer to the small pond. Hinata hastily put her hand over his snout as the fish streaked away. "You can't eat those, Akamaru," she told him. "I'll buy you something later, okay?"

"Akamaru's got the right idea though," Ino sighed with a roll of her eyes. "I'm hungry. Haven't you three lost enough money yet?"

"No!" The intense look of concentration on Naruto's face was a rare sight that his friends had long since learned to associate with trivial games. He tracked the fish with determined eyes, his paper scooper poised like a hunter. "I'll catch a fishy even if it I empty Gama-chan! Yargh!" He dived at the same time as Lee – both of them coming up with another broken scooper.

"These fish are brimming with golden youth!" Lee howled. "I will swim two hundred laps if I do not catch one!"

"Prepare to catch a cold then," Neji scoffed. Lee was already a hundred laps in debt after challenging him. With his clan's signature precision, Neji had easily caught a fish on his second go. His prize was bagged and half an hour warm in Tenten's hands. The others couldn't boast the same.

Naruto rolled up his sleeves. "Oi, don't underestimate us! More money, Hinata-chan." He had put her in charge of managing his frog-shaped wallet; Gama-chan had shed a lot of weight while in her possession. Hinata dutifully reached into the gaping purse – and scraped rock bottom.

"Um, Naruto-kun...?"

Naruto looked aghast as she handed him his deflated wallet. He turned to Sakura. "I killed Gama-chan!"

She gave him a _whose-fault-is-that_ look. "Well, don't look at me. I already paid for your lunch."

Naruto grimaced and looked at Sasuke. "Hi," he grinned.

Sasuke snorted and crossed his arms. "Hell no. You owe me more than you owe Sakura, dobe."

"Oh, come on! All those years of friendship?"

"Not worth pouring my money down the drain."

"Hey, it's hard to catch one!"

"Maybe you shouldn't swing the scoop around like a sword then."

"I am not! Sakura-chan, defend me!"

"What? Leave me out of this."

Hinata smiled at Team Seven's usual bicker. It was a warm sound, like peaceful afternoons playing with Satoru at Kurenai-sensei's place. The pond was beautiful, flashing with fins of gold and silver, and catching the orange glow of the overhead lanterns. It would be a sight to see when the fireworks went up – at this rate, they would probably still be here when that happened.

Absently scanning the waters, one particular fish caught Hinata's eye. It was a silver one, hovering around the rocky edge. It wasn't as lively as the others, wobbling along almost unnoticeably. Every now and then, one of the other fish would nip its tail and send it scurrying along in fright. Hinata wanted to reach into the water and lift it to safety.

"You try then, duck-butt."

Sasuke glowered. "I told you to stop calling me that."

Hinata blinked as Naruto nudged her. He flashed her a grin. "Aw, come on. Catch one for Hinata."

Alarmed, her eyes flickered up just as Sasuke's sought them out. "Th-That's-"

"Sasuke's boring to live with, right? I say you need a pet in the house." Hinata would be lying if she said she hadn't been tiptoeing around Naruto all day – but right now, his shoulder touching hers, his smile broke through the distance she'd tried to put between them. It was the sincere smile that had saved her so many times before, the one that promised everything would be alright.

"_I'll make a promise with you… he'll take care of you. Believe it, okay?"_

Hinata swallowed and smiled wanly back. She knew Sasuke was looking at her. "If I catch one before you do, you have to stop playing," he said, passing the storekeeper money for two poi.

"Fine! Let's beat him, Hinata!"

Watching as Naruto steadied his scooper, Hinata found herself wondering if he knew. Did he know that she'd been watching him even when he thought no one would care? Did he know as well as she did, that even though she thought she had already let go, the heat of his shoulder brushing hers still burned straight through to her core, hot as ever?

Because that one second of eye contact had told her that Sasuke did. He saw, he knew, and he would never say anything.

Kiba and Lee had stopped playing by now, and everyone was watching as Naruto's scooper stealthily tailed its target. With a triumphant cry, he swooped in – and came up with a broken net. Sasuke smirked. "Just warming up," Naruto huffed back.

Sasuke snorted and reached for his wallet, but it was Hinata who paid the stall owner and handed Naruto a new poi. "Try again, Naruto-kun," she smiled.

And he did, making three failed attempts for each of Sasuke's. Hinata laughed with him, knowing that this was truly the last night, the last time she would let herself feel so close to him. She had accepted it a long time ago, but that same self-acceptance had given her something to hide behind, thinking it was alright to spend another day by his side. She couldn't do that anymore. It was unfair to Sasuke and she had vowed never to run away again. Today had to be goodbye.

Hinata knew all this, and all it did was make it harder. Her heart skipped with guilty relief each time Naruto or Sasuke broke their net, buying her another precious moment. Yet all the weight seemed to flush from her body when Sasuke finally bagged a small, silver fish with a triumphant smirk. She looked down at her hand, gripping the scooper with Naruto's large fingers wrapped over hers. He let go to whine to Sakura and, closing her eyes, Hinata did too.

"Aww, I wanted to get a fish for you, Sakura-chan."

"There, there. You knew Sasuke was going to win anyway."

Hinata smiled to herself. She let a long, deep breath, and didn't open her eyes, just in case. It had been a good day, being together with all her friends. She wanted to watch the midnight fireworks with everyone, barbeque at the steakhouse and part, tipsy from sake, with promises to meet up and laugh together again, until their last festival. She really wanted to.

"Here."

Flecks of tears trembled on her lashes as Hinata's eyes flew open. She stared at the clear bag Sasuke was holding out to her, the freshly-caught goldfish zipping around inside. Carefully, she held her hands out for it. "Thank you, Sasuke-kun," she said, and even though it was only a whisper, it trembled with all the sincerity that she could never, ever convey to his teammate.

He shrugged, looking away uncomfortably. It wasn't the first time he had seen her on the verge of tears. "Everything okay?" he muttered.

Hinata swallowed and nodded. Everyone was heading to the steakhouse now, Tenten dragging Lee along to keep him from doing his laps of punishment on the spot. Naruto was already so far away. It would be easy to follow them.

It was foolish to think that Kiba and Shino wouldn't notice her emotions bubbling to the surface. Even now, they hovered at the back of the group, ready to escape with her at first notice. But Hinata didn't want to be protected or comforted, not today.

She reached out almost blindly. Her fingers brushing the thin fabric of his shirt, she held fast onto it. He stopped walking, halting in place without a word. Giving herself no room to think, she slowly rested her forehead against his back. The goldfish bag felt chillingly cold in her hand.

They just stood there. She knew she was making him uncomfortable, and the slight tensing of his muscles made her wish she could rewind time, undo her stupid, selfish actions. But she couldn't, and after a while she heard him call out to their friends. They hesitantly went ahead, leaving them behind.

By now, Hinata couldn't raise her head off his back because she didn't know how to face him. How many times had she lost her composure in front of him? How many times more?

The crowd parted around them while they stood there, awkwardly. Eventually, Sasuke sighed. "Hold on," he said, and began to walk. She held on to him with blind trust, because despite everything, there had never been a moment where Hinata doubted Sasuke.

"Wait here," he told her after they broke out of the crowd. She let go of his shirt and sat down on a ledge, balancing the goldfish on her lap. By the time he returned, Hinata had had more than enough time to catch up with her embarrassment.

"I-I'm so sor-" she began, but Sasuke interrupted her with a stick of takoyaki to the face. He waited until she had hesitantly taken it before shoving his hands in his pockets and awkwardly sitting down beside her.

He only spoke up after she had taken a bite. "You should just cry, you know."

Hinata was so shocked she almost dropped the goldfish. "I… can't do that."

"… I won't laugh."

She knew he wouldn't, but the way he'd offered the small comfort made _her _want to laugh. "I think I'm strong enough not to cry," Hinata said carefully. "It's self-pity, after all. I haven't been wronged by anyone except myself."

Sasuke glanced at her. The corners of his mouth twitched. "It's not a crime to fall in love," he said flatly.

Hinata actually choked on her next bite. The lack of oxygen made her face flush even brighter. "S-Sasuke!" she gasped.

He grimaced. He knew he'd regret saying that. He never knew what to say in situations like this. Too bad he had a knack of finding himself in them.

Coughing, Hinata caught her breath again. "Have you ever… ever liked someone?"

He didn't hesitate. "No."

Quietly, she said, "I knew since I was a child that I was already promised to someone… and still felt that way about Naruto-kun. It's wrong, isn't it?"

Sasuke stared straight ahead. "They don't expect us to fall in love," he said after a while. "If they will force us into something like this, I don't see loving another as anything worse than what they've done to us."

Hinata watched him with surprise. How much thought had he put into this? As much as she had? More? "Maybe so… but I can't."

"I don't mind."

She shook her head. "I can't," she said again. "I won't."

He looked at her. "You won't even tell him?"

Hinata opened her mouth, but realised she didn't know what to say. Instead, she looked down at the fish swimming in the bag between her hands. Looking more carefully, she realised that it was the sickly fish she had seen before. Sasuke couldn't have missed its ragged fins and scarred scales - no, he'd chosen this fish because of them.

Hinata felt herself smile. "You're so kind, Sasuke-kun."

He blinked at that. Then he scowled and looked away. For some reason, Hinata found herself laughing. "Don't be embarrassed. It was a compliment." He muttered something under his breath. She couldn't catch it, but her smile widened. She held the last takoyaki out to him; an olive branch.

He glanced at it, still looking miffed. After a long moment, he leaned forward and cautiously bit it off the skewer. The face he made even before he began chewing reminded Hinata. "Oh! T-Takoyaki has octopus in it."

He had already swallowed it. His grimace gradually eased. "It's not that bad," he said grudgingly, sounding almost surprised.

She blinked. "You've never tried takoyaki before?"

"Why would I? I hate seafood."

He looked so petulant Hinata started to laugh again. She became aware of the timely shouts around them as the crowd counted down to the fireworks. Sasuke raised his head to the sky, but Hinata looked down at the goldfish, the tiny life that he had rescued.

The crowd swallowed up Hinata's words. Raising his eyebrows, Sasuke leaned in.

"Three! Two!"

Her breath felt warm against his ear. "Can I call him Takoyaki?"


	8. Blizzard

_Blizzard_

Winter came to Fire Country late but made up for it by rushing in twice as quickly. Most people would probably find the streets of a white Konoha in the hours before first light breathtakingly beautiful in its ghostly stillness. Sasuke wasn't most people. He was a shinobi – a damn good one – and unfortunately for him, shinobi weren't trained to be warm.

Instead, they were trained to move and fight in ways a thick coat simply did not allow; even the standard issue cloaks were little more than a windbreaker. Most shinobi slipped one on anyway when the weather chilled, but Sasuke downright refused. He didn't see the point of wearing something that would be the first to be tossed aside when the situation went south – which happened a lot in ANBU. Sasuke insisted that circumventing chakra beneath his skin kept him warm, even if Naruto complained that he got goosebumps just looking at him, standing bare in his thin armour.

Right now, though, Sasuke was getting close to grudgingly admitting that one of those pesky cloaks might be nice. Midnight patrol shifts in the cold took their toll on him whether he liked it or not. Drifting snowflakes no longer vaporised immediately when they brushed his skin and every second that they lingered sent tingles of suppressed shivers racing down his nerves. The icy wind grappling at his back hardly helped, making him curse through gritted teeth.

It didn't take much to guess that Sasuke hated winter.

By the time he reached home, Sasuke was dripping with freezing dew and his fingers fumbled with the keys. His nose tickled with a sneeze, but he held it back with a stubborn scowl. He had only one thing on his mind: a blazing hot shower.

When he let himself into the apartment, the first thing Sasuke noticed was the kitchen light. Hinata had started leaving it on for him as the nights grew progressively colder and darker. Wrapped up on the counter was a platter of food, microwave-ready. That was nothing new. The towel sitting folded on top of the shoe rack was, though. Sasuke looked blankly at it, eyebrow arched. He lifted it by a corner and watched it unfurl, as if expecting the folds of the cloth to reveal some sort of mysterious riddle. It didn't. But Hinata didn't just leave laundry lying around.

Towelling his damp hair, Sasuke stepped into the kitchen. Hinata had made steamed fish, with tofu and asparagus as a side dish. That girl had strange culinary combinations. Sakura did too. Recalling the last… thing the pink-haired medic had forced on him, Sasuke was grateful that Hinata's experiments were edible at the very least.

He'd warm his hands with the miso first, then have the meal after a shower. As he watched the soup rotate slowly in the microwave, Sasuke realised that living with Hinata had given him a chance to be spoilt; something he'd given up when he moved out. He wasn't sure how to feel about that.

He stopped the microwave before it went off. The heat of the miso seeped through the ceramic bowl and set his fingers alight with a blissful warmth. Cupping his hand around it, Sasuke turned towards the couch.

He froze. A moment later, he sneezed. Then he started to mentally berate himself.

Some part of him had expected the lights, the dinner, and maybe even the towel. Now, he remembered that there was something else. Something like the sight of Hinata curled up on the couch with a cushion and blanket – his blanket.

Sasuke just stared for a moment. He took small sips of miso soup as he silently watched Hinata's sleeping form. After a while, he let out a sigh and put the bowl down.

This was another reason to dislike winter. The apartment had thin walls that let more cold air in than kept out. The living room was its worst victim. It was haunted by the wind that slipped through the cracks of the balcony and that did nothing good for Sasuke's sleep. He'd never known his apartment was this ridiculously cold in winter. Then he remembered that this was his first year weathering it on the couch.

He had hoped Hinata wouldn't notice, but the new coat she spontaneously bought for him last week told him that she had – of course. Sasuke wore it to sleep to please her – he supposed it did keep him warm – but it wasn't enough to stop Hinata from waiting up for him every now and then. She pretended to be riveted by the terrible comedy talk shows that were on at this time, and acted like she had lost track of time when Sasuke came through the door. If he gave her a flat _you-are-such-a-terrible-liar_ look, her cheeks would redden and she would begin to stammer as she fabricated more hopeless excuses. So Sasuke usually played along and watched the show with her. In return, she would retreat to her room after he finished eating and she saw fatigue clouding his eyes. An exchange of quick conversation and the couch was his again, slightly warm where she had been sitting.

An outsider would think there was no point to these episodes. But Sasuke could tell what Hinata was thinking, even if she never worked up enough courage to voice it. He knew she never would; at least for now. They'd sit next to each other, chuckling awkwardly at the television and ask about each other's day during the commercials. Everything would go back to normal when winter blew over.

Sasuke hadn't expected Hinata to wait up tonight. She had only returned from a solo mission two days ago and been prescribed ample rest for near chakra exhaustion. Sasuke had handled most of the meals while she was resting. She didn't always like that, so he wasn't surprised that she had cooked tonight. Hinata usually had a reason for the things she did, even for something like falling asleep waiting for him.

Padding over to the couch, Sasuke looked down at her. Her breath misted the way his did on particularly cold nights like the current one. "You idiot," he muttered.

She shivered when he took the blanket away so he could carry her to her room. He pulled the window shut after he tucked her in, leaving only a small sliver. Another sneeze started to creep up his nose as he drew back. It was getting hard to remember that this room had been his. Hinata's soft flowery scent had settled on everything. Nose twitching, Sasuke turned to go back to his belated dinner.

He didn't get far. The hand reaching out to brush his wrist surprised him enough to let the sneeze get the better of him.

"B-Bless you," she mumbled as he reeled back.

Sniffing, Sasuke glanced over his shoulder. "Sorry. Didn't mean to wake you."

She shook her head and withdrew her hand to tuck her hair as strands slid across her face. She seemed to hesitate. "It's… cold."

"Do you want another blanket?"

Another shake of the head. Hinata's eyes were drawn to the strip of moonlight on the floor. She kept her gaze focused on it as she said softly, "Thank you for taking care of me, Sasuke-kun."

He shrugged wordlessly. Hinata wondered if he knew about the promise Naruto had made to her on the day of the wedding. Or was it Naruto who had known? He'd known about the kindness Hinata was constantly discovering in Sasuke, and he'd faithfully sworn without a shred of doubt that she would be looked after. It had reassured her in those early days, when she couldn't stop confusing Sasuke with the cheerful boy she'd once known him as, and been twice as intimidated by his silence because of it.

But now she knew better. She wasn't a victim. Even if she was, she wasn't the only one.

Hinata sat up. Asking him to spend the winter in the bed – _his_ bed – with her was something she wasn't ready to say, and if Sasuke's deliberate obliviousness meant anything, he wasn't ready to hear it either. But she wasn't going to let go so easily. She raised her eyes off the floor and waited until Sasuke glanced into them. "Why do you care about others," she began, "but refuse to let them care for you?"

Sasuke frowned. "I can take care of myself."

Now something shifted in Hinata's gaze, holding his in place. "Are you saying I can't?"

He stopped, and eyed her. She knew the answer; he'd made sure she did, with the torn bounty page that she still kept folded in the drawer. She was asking it to remind him. Sasuke held in a sigh. It was a little late to learn the boundaries of Hinata's rare stubbornness.

Her voice softened. "You don't owe me anything. You know that, don't you?"

"Of course I do."

She looked like she had more to say. Soon enough, she let him hear it. Hinata sounded slightly uncertain for the first time, like she wasn't sure where she stood on an invisible spectrum. But she didn't avert her gaze as she added lightly, "Especially not for being yourself, and not Itachi."

She couldn't miss the flash that flickered across Sasuke's eyes, not even in the dim darkness of the room. Neither of them said anything. Sasuke didn't even feel his hands clenching. When he finally realised, he released them and told himself to get a grip.

In a low, stiff voice, he replied, "Not everyone thinks that way."

Hinata searched his face. She didn't know what she expected to find. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Does it not matter that I do?"

It was her quiet voice that made him look at her, even though she now refused to meet his eyes. They both knew that his silence was louder than words unspoken. The remaining tension drained from Sasuke's body. He hadn't realised that Hinata trusted him enough to be hurt by the fact that he didn't reciprocate. It made him uncomfortable to have upset her.

It wasn't the first time they had disagreed. Except this didn't feel like a disagreement. At the same time, it was not a fight. Somehow that made it worse.

Every sensible muscle was telling Sasuke to spit out one of his clumsy apologies and get out of the room before he made an even bigger mess. But even if he was sorry he had upset her, he wasn't sorry for everything else. So instead of letting it go, he simply asked flatly, "Do you really?"

Hinata lifted her head.

"When your father walked you down that aisle, you didn't look at the man on the other end and wish that you were marrying who were supposed to. You never sat next to me and thought that Itachi would have known how to make you laugh and feel safe." He gave her a long look. "Well?"

He had never seen her make the expression she was wearing. She opened her mouth but later pressed it shut without saying anything, like she couldn't believe he had said what he had. Sasuke didn't move. She would just have to learn here and now that Naruto didn't always call him a bastard for fun.

Finally, she seemed to make up her mind. "If you're asking me if I loved Itachi-niisan," Hinata said levelly, "I adored him as much as you did. Do you remember how he would take us to the markets and split a popsicle for us?" Her voice was imbued with the resolute strength of an heiress, but now it wavered for the first time since the last time Sasuke had seen her cry. It was hard to believe that it had been over half a year ago. Almost a month had passed since the festival. Sasuke now recognised that he had let Hinata get closer than he had intended. Now they understood each other enough to hurt the other. Was this really what brought two people closer? If it was, he didn't want to draw any nearer.

"If you do," Hinata continued, "then please… tell me how I could _not_ love him, the big brother Kami-sama had given me?"

_He was my brother_, Sasuke thought, almost like a reflex. It was a childish jealousy left behind from the past. Despite that, he had never begrudged Hinata anything. Had his younger self really been that selfless? Or had he just grown twisted? That would be Itachi's fault, wouldn't it?

Hinata gripped the edge of the bed. A voice in the back of her mind was telling her this was what they got for pretending that the past could stay in the past, that the hole Itachi had left would fill itself over time. It didn't. Now they were standing at the very edges of it, trying futilely like children to see all the way to the bottom.

"But that's not what you're asking, is it?" Hinata sounded tired, her voice so soft it was gentle. "And the answer is no. No, Sasuke… I never confused the two of you."

If she was so confident she understood him when he had trouble seeing himself in the mirror, then he hoped she could tell whether or not he was glad to hear those words – because he couldn't. In fact, he barely heard them. For some reason, Sasuke's mind had wandered to the miso soup he had left in the kitchen. It had definitely gone cold again by now.

But when he looked at Hinata, who came and stayed when most left, Sasuke found himself hoping that it was still warm and steaming, like she had just made it for him. Except soup did not heat itself, and words once said could never be taken back.

* * *

A/N: Because even though I'm aching to let them be happy, this story writes itself and apparently you can't get close to Sasuke without suffering backlash... the same could be said for writing fanfiction when you have an assignment and exam in the next three days, and haven't started on either.


	9. Popsicle

_Popsicle_

He lost him when he was fifteen, on a colourless winter day.

If he had known what was going to happen, he probably wouldn't have made and lost a stupid bet with Naruto and been forced to pay for his ramen. He wouldn't have let yesterday end and even if time refused to stop for him, he would have made sure he didn't wake up. If he had known.

It took him a long time to stop thinking like that - like something about that day would change itself if he could have foreseen it. It was easier, so much easier, to blame the wretched circumstances than to let himself fully comprehend that he _hadn't_ foreseen it. He hadn't noticed. He should have.

But even if he had, he wouldn't have believed it.

"Oi, you don't believe me, do you?"

"I don't want to."

"Heh, you'd better keep those Sharingan of yours peeled then. Behold – something I can do that _you_ can't!"

Sasuke ignored Naruto's loud boast and turned away, rolling his eyes. Like hell he'd watch. If he witnessed another bowl of ramen disappearing into Naruto's mouth, the meagre contents of his own stomach might come up just trying to imagine how his teammate could pack seventeen bowls in an hour. And he hadn't even gotten started on the gaping hole in his wallet.

"You cheated," Sasuke scowled sourly after they left Ichiraku's. The cold wind rushed at them, and he stuck his hands in his pockets.

"Phew! Man, I'm bloated." Naruto burped and blissfully patted his stomach. Sasuke was starting to feel sick again. "Hey, wanna spar?" Naruto asked brightly.

"You'll vomit when I beat you up," Sasuke retorted.

"_If_ you can beat me," Naruto corrected. They'd been having conversations like this since they were genin. Back then, proving him wrong was easy. Three years later, it took much more effort and even though it killed Sasuke to admit it, he wasn't always the one left standing.

It wasn't just Naruto. Sakura's deadly fist had come too close to his face the last time they trained together. As a genin, Sasuke had taken it as a personal affront that his teammates were catching up to him. Then someone had poked his forehead and told him that he should be grateful he was no longer the only one growing stronger. And when Team Seven found themselves cornered on their first chuunin mission, with no Kakashi to fall back on, Sasuke realised why.

Now, glancing at Naruto's competitive grin, Sasuke wondered if the other boy was thinking the same thing; of what a childish mess their team used to be. Even if Naruto wasn't on the same page, Sasuke wasn't about to spell it out for him. He didn't do sentimental, not unless it was his last weapon. "Maybe next week," Sasuke answered finally.

Naruto grumbled to himself, having gotten pumped for nothing. "Why? What's happening this week? Wait-" He scrunched his face as he tried to remember. Usually he wouldn't bother hoping he knew the answer, but Sasuke rarely talked about his plans. So if he had mentioned something at all, it was usually- "Itachi! Right?"

Sasuke cleared his throat for no particular reason and looked straight ahead as he walked. "He said he would spar with me when he got back from his mission." He would need all his strength for that. Fighting Naruto would leave him with much less. Besides, he could spar with Naruto whenever he wanted. Itachi was a different story.

"Can I have a go at him after he kicks your ass?" Naruto asked eagerly. Sasuke's brother ranked high on his list of admiration.

"Back off," Sasuke said immediately. "Don't forget about the ANBU entrance exams."

Naruto's grin widened. "Not in a million years. I can't wait."

Frankly, Sasuke couldn't either. He and Naruto were one of the few non-jounin candidates for the exam. Not many chuunin could look Black Ops in the masked face and have the confidence to survive it. Sasuke could. Maybe it had something to do with Itachi after all, but he had always felt like there was no other path for him. He couldn't say the same for Naruto, though.

Sasuke looked at him now. "Sakura was right, you know. I don't think you're cut out for ANBU."

Naruto fell silent for the first time that day. He knew what Sasuke meant. It wasn't about his abilities. No, it was about something ANBU were sometimes required to cast aside, something he had in overwhelming abundance: emotion. Naruto absently took in the sizzling scents from the street stalls as he thought. "It's probably an ugly place, ANBU," he mused.

Sasuke thought of Itachi and the bitter smell of blood that refused to wash out of his uniform. "Yeah."

"Kakashi-sensei said the things ANBU do aren't always right. But they still do it. So I started thinking 'why'… then I realised it was because their Hokage told them to." Naruto paused for a moment. Sasuke walked beside him in silence until the blonde shrugged. "I guess that scared me. What happens if I become Hokage, and start hating the village because I can't accept that it's not always beautiful?" He gave a small laugh. "A place like ANBU would open my eyes, don't you think?"

What _did_ he think? Sasuke wondered about that himself. He felt a familiar jealousy rising distantly, as he realised Naruto knew exactly what he wanted in life. It was quickly overtaken by a strangely passionate resolve. At that moment, Sasuke was somehow sure of one thing; that if – _when_ Naruto became Hokage, he would have the Uchiha clan behind his back. He didn't know how yet, but he would make it happen.

Naruto might have gotten predictably emotional, or he might have teased his best friend for being so uncharacteristically sentimental – whatever his reaction, Sasuke could only imagine it. Because he didn't get the chance to voice his thoughts, and after It happened, they didn't cross his mind again for a long, long time.

Both boys turned when they recognised the chakra rapidly approaching them. Instinctively, they already knew something was wrong; Sakura rarely travelled at that speed. Naruto had to catch her before her momentum carried her right past them. "Whoa, whoa – what's the rush, Sakura-chan?"

She held on to Naruto's arm as she caught her breath. He jokingly complained that she was hurting him, until her grip actually began to bruise him and he went quiet because he hadn't noticed how upset she was. By the time Sakura was ready to speak, Team Seven knew that it was serious.

A dozen possibilities raced through Sasuke's quick mind. But the last thing he expected was for Sakura to take a deep breath and look him directly in the eye. She was more than upset.

"Sasuke…" Nothing else came out of her mouth for several agonising seconds. It was like she didn't know what to say. Or did, but wasn't sure how. Eventually, Sasuke ran out of patience.

"What?"

She looked at him, biting her lip. He stared back. Naruto's eyes flickered uncertainly between the two of them. Finally, Sakura shook her head and took him by the hand. "Just come with me."

At first she dragged them through the streets at a quick walk. Then, turning a corner, she sped up like there just wasn't enough time. They quickly found themselves leaping across rooftops. That was when Sasuke began to overtake Sakura's lead, because by now he could tell their destination was the hospital.

Her nerves somewhat settled by the sprint, Sakura began to explain in her clipped medic voice as she strode briskly through the white hallways. "A patrol team found him ten miles from the village. He was alone."

"Who?" His father had no reason to leave the village. One of their friends? But Sakura wouldn't have singled him out like that. Another Uchiha clansman?

Sakura stopped suddenly. They almost walked into her back. "I was there when they brought him in," she said quietly.

He started to scowl. "Who?"

She didn't seem to hear him. "Shizune-senpai and I didn't know what to do. We had to call Tsunade-sama. He-"

"_Who_?" Sasuke demanded.

"Hey." Naruto's hand pressed lightly on Sasuke's chest. He had taken a step toward Sakura without noticing, backing her into the wall. Inhaling noisily through gritted teeth, Sasuke moved back with a quiet grunt; his way of apologising. Sakura didn't seem to mind. In fact, she barely noticed.

She looked like she wanted to be anywhere but here, talking to him. "He's sick, Sasuke-kun," she whispered.

He opened his mouth to ask her one last time, but the look in her eyes stopped him. She was wearing the expression she made when he or Naruto got hurt and she was wishing so desperately that she could heal more than flesh wounds. Somehow, that made Sasuke unclench his tensed muscles. Sakura's gaze moved away from his to focus on something else. Slowly, Sasuke followed it.

They were standing in front of a closed door. Sasuke tried to remember what ward they were in. Emergency. But this wasn't an operation theatre. Someone was dying. And when his fingertips brushed the cold door handle, Sasuke knew who it was.

"Sasuke!" Naruto called out when his teammate spun and ran back the way they had come. He cursed. What the hell was going on? "Sakura-" He stopped when he finally noticed that she had turned and hid her face in his chest. When he hesitantly put his arm around her, he could feel her shoulders shaking and his heart sank. "You're kidding," he said numbly. "Ne… Sakura-chan. You're kidding, right?"

_No_. The single word pounded in Sasuke's head. He couldn't hear any other thought. Maybe he wasn't thinking at all.

He knew he definitely wasn't, when he skidded to a halt in front of Tsunade. She was speaking to Shizune outside the operation theatre, looking harried. She stopped mid-sentence when Sasuke faced her, shoulders heaving.

Her lips parted but he was quicker. "Save him."

Shizune stepped forward. "Sasuke," she began.

"Save him," he said again, louder. His voice echoed. "Please."

Tsunade put her hand on Shizune's shoulder. Understanding, the younger woman quietly left them. Once her footsteps had faded to leave them standing in eerie silence, Tsunade let out a long, resigned sigh. She hated this part of being a medic. "I tried, Sasuke."

His stare was burning a hole in the polished floor. "Try again," he said forcefully. His hands were clenched so tightly they were shaking.

"There's nothing I can do."

Those were the words that snapped him. Sasuke brought his head up, his face twisted between fury and agony. "You're the best medic-nin, goddamn it!" he shouted. "Who can save him if you can't?"

Her hazel eyes locked on to his. She didn't even have to say a word.

No one. No one could save him.

He was going to lose him.

Skin ripped and knuckles cracked when Sasuke slammed his fist into the wall. He breathed heavily for a while. "I'll kill them," he said in a low voice. "Where did you send him? Who did it?"

But he didn't need to hear Tsunade's answer. He knew it already. As a child, Sasuke had believed Itachi was invincible, undefeatable. As a boy not yet a man, he knew the truth; that his brother was not an infallible god, but one of the strongest shinobi of this age. He wouldn't be killed on a regular ANBU mission. He couldn't.

Tsunade confirmed it. Itachi had been returning from a successful mission. No signs of an ambush.

"_He's sick, Sasuke-kun."_

His voice cracked. "How long?"

"A while, judging by the symptoms."

"How long?" Sasuke repeated.

Tsunade regarded him. "I would say at least a year."

A year. Sasuke's hand slid down the wall, leaving a red streak, to hang limply by his side. "Why didn't he say anything?" he muttered.

Tsunade didn't know how to answer him.

"He knew there was something wrong," Sasuke continued to mutter to himself. "There's no way he wouldn't. He's not stupid enough to ignore it." His bleeding hand tightened again, against the pain. "What were you thinking, Itachi?"

Medics were accustomed to being the bearers of bad news, but deciding whether or not someone should know the details was something Tsunade would never be comfortable with. Finally, she made up her mind.

"I can tell the disease was a painful one. There is medication out there that could have eased his symptoms. It didn't look like he took any of them."

Sasuke didn't say a word. A bead of blood oozed from between his torn skin and trickled slowly down his hand. It took minutes for it to gather at the edge and drip to the floor, a scarlet blemish on the white tiles.

"_He's sick, Sasuke-kun…"_

"Are you saying," he said in a deathly quiet voice, like he wasn't breathing, "that Itachi wanted to die?"

Tsunade closed her eyes. "I don't know that, Sasuke."

No, she didn't. But he did.

A wrangled sound choked from Sasuke's throat as he pulled his arm back again. He hoped it hurt. Would it compare to the pain Itachi had been enduring? Would he ever know?

His fist held enough intent for self-hurt that the force of it dented the wall even though Tsunade caught it before contact. She didn't flinch, but he did. He tried to wrench out of her grip. She held him there effortlessly. "Sasuke," she said gently. Warmth enveloped his hand as she healed it. Tsunade's eyes were soft. "He doesn't have long."

He stopped struggling.

"Go to him."

If he had known, he wouldn't have let Itachi leave on that mission. If he had known, they would have found someone who could help him. He knew they would have.

Why hadn't he known?

Naruto and Sakura were still standing outside the room. He didn't look at them. They didn't ask about the blood on his sleeves. They just let him past, and watched him open the door. Only when he closed it behind him did Sasuke realise that he had wanted them to stop him. Too late now. For a lot of things.

The curtains were drawn, the lights on dim. It was like they thought he was already dead. As he walked towards the bed, Sasuke distantly wondered if his parents had been notified yet. They would deny it like he had. He knew Itachi would not have told them anything. Had that been the problem?

Sasuke looked down at his brother.

His first thought was that nothing looked different about Itachi. The nurses had removed his forehead protector and his dark hair fell neatly over his brow, his loose ponytail drawn around the back to rest lightly on his shoulder. He had always been pale and thin… but maybe not this pale, not this thin. Sasuke tried to remember when his brother's face had started to hollow and draw long.

When he got started, he couldn't stop. A year meant that Itachi had sparred with him while in pain. Sasuke was not surprised he had lost anyway, but now he knew why Itachi had spent progressively less time with him. Sasuke hadn't just been improving – his brother had been weakening. Their mother had been complaining that Itachi didn't finish most of his meals. Come to think of it, how had he placated her? Charismatically, no doubt. Liar. Sasuke was starting to see it now, all the pieces he had missed.

They hadn't given him an oxygen mask. Instead, his heartbeat jumped and beeped on a screen. Sasuke watched it idly without interest.

"What was it, Itachi?"

If he strained, he could hear his brother's shallow breathing.

"What made you lose faith in living?"

Was it the clan? Itachi had undoubtedly changed after Shisui died. He didn't follow the Uchiha the way he used to. Was it that simple?

"Didn't you think there was anything worth trying to live for?"

He didn't even try to fight it. Did he really think there was no purpose? That was a coward's way of thinking.

"What about me?"

Or was he just tired?

Sasuke's hands were bleeding again, this time from his own nails. It didn't hurt at all. He forced himself to look at his brother's face, his peaceful expression. If he had noticed, Itachi might not be dying. That was the one, single truth, the only thing that made sense at that moment.

"You're not fair, nii-san," Sasuke whispered.

_Beep… beep…_ That wasn't the answer he wanted to hear. Still, he listened to it, the sound of his older brother's quietening life.

"_Come over here, Sasuke."_

Beep… beep…

"_When are you going to stop forgetting your lunch, little brother?"_

Beep… beep…

"_You've gotten confident. I approve."_

No one was coming. So this was it, huh?

"_Do you want to spar together when I get back?"_

Was this what Itachi wanted? To fade silently in a grey, too-big room with an unfeeling brother watching.

Beep…

"_Sorry, Sasuke. Maybe next time."_

The door burst open.

Sasuke's head came up. Light shafted into the room, so bright that he couldn't see for a moment. All he could hear were her heavy breaths, the same sound he had made racing against time. His eyes adjusted and found hers. At that moment, Itachi's machine let out a long, single drone.

Neither of them moved. They didn't even look at him. Their attention was fixed on each other, like reality wouldn't reach them this way. They were wrong.

Sasuke felt himself stir when he saw her pale eyes widen and begin to fill. He took a small step back, and fell into the chair behind him. The metallic scrape of the legs against the floor rang piercingly in his ear.

Dazed, he looked back at Itachi. He was still sleeping. Nothing had changed. Nothing.

"_Maybe I'll eat this popsicle all by myself… or maybe I'll share. One for Sasuke and one for Hinata."_

Her hands had risen to her face, but the tears couldn't be held back. They spilled from her eyes, trickling down her cheeks as she let go of the doorframe and slowly sank to her knees. Watching her, his own eyes began to sting. He lifted a hand to wipe at them, but found himself hunched over and holding his head as his body began to tremble.

"_You two should stop following me everywhere. What happens when you grow up and I'm not there?"_

They cried like lost children waiting to be found, because they didn't know the answer.

* * *

A/N: I worked non-stop on this for five hours and reached the point where I just wanted to get it finished. So if it seems rushed, that's why. Hinata had a flashback chapter. Now it's Sasuke's turn. This is the sad fate I gave Itachi in this universe. No one seems to know when he contracted his disease so I took some fanfiction liberties... Poor Itachi.


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